Music is calming for toddlers, and they will get great joy out of making music and hearing songs. Keep a basket of instruments in the classroom. Avoid any instruments like harmonicas that must be played with the mouth because germs can spread this way. Use empty oatmeal containers as drums or fill them with beans to make shakers. Stretch rubber bands around an empty shoe box to make a homemade guitar. Play children's CDs and encourage toddlers to try to play along with the beat.
Build motor skills and coordination by creating an obstacle course for toddlers. Place pillows and baskets throughout the room. Bring in a small trampoline or tunnel if possible. Put some space between objects. Demonstrate how to move throughout the course to toddlers. Include as many types of movement as possible. Ask children to crawl in some areas and skip in others. Show them how to walk around the baskets and jump onto the pillows.
Bring in a nylon parachute or a large bed sheet. Spread out the parachute on the ground and ask toddlers to sit around the outside. Two or more adults must also play to get the parachute high enough. Ask everyone to hold the edge of the parachute, then count to three. On three, everyone must lift the parachute up high and watch how it domes overhead. Do this again, but each time you lift the parachute up, call out one child's name to crawl underneath once it's high overhead. The activity builds gross motor skills and requires children to work together and take turns.
Any make-believe play will help toddlers use their imaginations and help them make sense of the world. Playing kitchen also encourages children to work together and teaches them about food and kitchen safety. If you don't have a toy kitchen, borrow from another class or create one yourself. Cut out black circles and tape them to a shelf to create burners. Hang a curtain over another shelf to make a refrigerator and cut out and laminate food pictures from magazines. Adults should play with toddlers to praise them for being safe and preparing healthy food.